


College Pepperony

by Purple_ducky00



Series: AU-gust prompts [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Insecure Tony Stark, POV Pepper Potts, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25667359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: Before Virginia Potts met Tony Stark, everyone warned her to be wary of his playboy ways. Little do they know she will be the one to make the first move.
Relationships: (background), Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Pepper Potts & James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: AU-gust prompts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859422
Comments: 8
Kudos: 80





	College Pepperony

“Ginny. You won’t believe what my roommate did today.” Jimmy Rhodes flops down on Virginia's bed.

She smiles indulgently. Jimmy has been complaining to her since day one of the first semester about his roommate. They are now in semester number two, and she still has not met said roomie. “What did he do?”

“He blew up our toaster! And he knows I eat Poptarts for breakfast every day!” Jimmy cries, and Ginny laughs.

“Oh, poor Jim. Did you say something to him?”

Jim's eyes soften. “I didn’t have to. He immediately apologized and went out and bought me a new one. He’s a good guy, but he just has the sense of a moth. And he doesn’t even realize when he gets burned.”

“So when do I meet him?”

Jim sits up. “Are you sure you want to? He is almost definitely going to try to flirt with you. He thinks he’s a ladies man or something.” Jimmy muses, “I guess whatever he does works because more often than not, he’s got someone in his room.”

“I think I can take care of myself.” Virginia waves. “He’s definitely not the first fuckboi who's tried to get in my pants.”

“Your funeral.” Jimmy rolls his eyes. “Want to grab some takeout and head back to my room?”

“Panda Express?”

“You know it. Let me call Tones to see if he wants some.” Jim pulls out his cell. His roommate answers before the first ring is over. “Hey Tony. You want some Panda Express? Yes… No… Listen… My friend an… Tony.” Jim sighs then raises his voice. “Tony _listen_. I’ll be home in like twenty minutes. My friend and I are getting Panda Express. What do you want? Mmhmm… ok… ok… anything else? Ok. All right. We'll be there asap.”

Virginia raises an eyebrow when Jim hangs up. He shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s hungry. Probably hasn’t eaten since breakfast yesterday.”

Twenty minutes later, Virginia and Jim walk into his dorm. “Tony! Dinner!”

Virginia walks in to see a man about her age, sitting on the floor with toaster parts spread out around him. He’s wearing a red muscle shirt that’s not too tight, and his hair is sticking out in all directions. He doesn’t realize they are there until Jim claps his hands beside his head. Immediately he goes to a fighting position. Seeing Jim, he relaxes. “Oh it’s you, Rhodey. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

Jim shrugs when Virginia mouths _Rhodey?_ “Tones, you need to be more aware. Or turn JARVIS on or something. Come on, we got you food.”

“Who’s we?” Tony snarks, then turns and sees Virginia. “Oh.” He stares at her with wide eyes, mouth gaping like a fish. “I, uh, um, hi?”

“Wow. You really made him speechless. That’s never happened,” Jim chuckles. “Tony, this is my friend Virginia Potts. Ginny, this is Tony Stark, my friend and roommate.”

Tony recovers quickly. “Aww, thanks for the friendship badge, honeybear. Hello, Ginny. Oh no, I don’t like that name. I’m going to have to come up with another name for you.”

“What’s wrong with my name?” Virginia shoots back.

“Virginia just sounds like the state, which ew. Ginny makes me think of a powdery old lady. And Potts? I can’t even make a good nickname out of that. You’re going to need a whole new name. Oh, you know what? How do you like ‘Pepper'? Pepper Potts. Hey J?” Tony calls out.

“Hello Sir,” a male British voice comes out of the speaker. “Remember this lady as Pepper Potts.”

“Welcome Miss Potts,” the voice says.

“You just defeated my purpose JARVIS,” Tony says good-naturedly. “That’s JARVIS, my AI. He’s still learning.”

Virginia is amazed that he was able to create even a functioning AI.

++++++

As the three hang out more, Virginia realizes the effect Tony has on people. For one, everyone on campus refers to her as “Pepper”. Tony’s a weird fellow because he has this reputation and all, and he does sleep around, but he’s not the jerk that he lets everyone believe he is. Other than the big persona he slips into at parties, he’s really a lowkey kind of guy.

Everyone who knew Tony warned her that he might try to bed and then abandon her, but in the two semesters that they have hung out, he never hit on her, not even once. She is a little disappointed, though, because she has an itty, bitty crush on him.

She’ll never tell anyone, but there was one time she stopped past Rhodey and his dorm to drop something off. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. Assuming that no one heard because the music was so loud, she tried the knob. It was unlocked. When she walked in, he was in the living room with one of his bots. There was an ACDC song on the radio, and he was headbanging and using a wrench as a microphone. The bot was moving its claw with the beat of the song. Pepper quietly snuck past and laid the bag on their table. She was going to sneak out when the song ended. Tony turned and screamed when he saw her, then sank to the floor.

“Are you ok?” She raced over to him, concerned.

Tony was wheezing for breath. “You scared me. I thought I was here alone.”

“You should really learn to lock your door.” She had told him, laughing. “By the way, I love your moves.”

There was a moment where Tony had looked up at her with wide eyes, then he smirked and said. “Who doesn’t?”

Now, Pepper is eating lunch with Rhodey at a little café near the campus when she asks, “Why were you so concerned that Tony would hit on me?”

“Honestly, I didn’t take into consideration how much he likes you.” Rhodey takes a sip of his Pepsi.

“Why wouldn’t he like me? Are you saying I’m not likeable?” Pepper demands. “That I would be just a call girl to him?”

Rhodey shakes his head. “I used the incorrect wording there. I knew he’d like you well enough. I hadn’t accounted for the amount he’d actually love you.”

“Love me?” Pepper snorts. “He treats me like he likes you.”

“But he doesn’t flirt with you like he does me. He thinks you're unattainable, and he doesn’t want to do anything to drive you away.” Rhodey explains.

Pepper gives him a look. “Did he tell you this himself?”

“No, but I know Tones.” He sits back in his chair. “And I know how he looks at you.”

Pepper doesn’t know if Rhodey’s just hyping her up or not, but she figures it won’t hurt to ask Tony out. She figures that she can move past it quickly if he rejects her, so their friendship shouldn’t be hurt. The next day, she texts Tony. **_Wanna grab some lunch?_**

_Sure. What are you thinking?_ He texts back quickly. _Do I need to shower?_

**_Yes._** She grins. **_What about the coffeeshop near my dorm?_**

He texts back his affirmation, and Pepper squeals. Today she is going to see what he thinks about her and, well, the two of them. Her roommate grins. “Sounds like you have a hot date.”

“Nope. Just getting lunch with one of my best friends.”

“That you have a crush on.” Bethany across from her. “Which one is it, Rhodey or Tony?”

Pepper brushes her off. “Rhodey’s dating Carol.”

“So Tony. Be careful. He’s got the love-em-and-leave-em reputation.” Bethany shrugs. “Don’t really know the dude, so I can’t say one way or the other. You do, so I trust your judgment.”

“Thanks. Most people would tell me I’m out of my mind, but he’s really sweet. He never once hit on me, you know that? Rhodey told me it’s because he likes me and doesn’t want to lose me, but I’m not so sure about that.”

Bethany pats her shoulder. “He’d be an idiot to reject you, Pep.”

Tony meets her at the coffeeshop for lunch, and conversation goes on like normal. They tell each other about their days, and there’s some good-natured ribbing. Finally, Pepper works up her courage and asks. “Are you dating anybody?”

“Umm… no?” Tony is frozen like a deer in the headlights.

“Want to go out on a date?”

Tony shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Are you sure? Like, I’d love to, but I’m not the best person to date. I forget things, like a lot. I get so caught up in my inventions that I don’t even realize anyone else is there. I forget to shower sometimes. My brain-to-mouth filter is basically non-existent. I’m a mess and a failure. Also, people are going to say a lot of stuff about you. Stuff that’s not true and could be really hurtful. My life is in the spotlight the moment I go out in public. Like, are you sure? You’re going to want to break up with me very shortly.”

“Did people actually say these things to you?” Pepper asks angrily. “Give me their names so I can murder them.”

Tony won’t look at her until she takes his hand. When he finally does raise his head, she is amazed to see the vulnerability in his eyes. She knows that is one thing he hates – seeming vulnerable to others.

  
  
“Tony,” She says softly, “I really like you. If you want to date me, and I want to date you, why should anyone else get a say? Shouldn’t we decide what we should have?”

Tony sags. “You’re right. Let’s date. Just let me know when you’ve had enough.”

+++++++

**_Five Years Later_ **

Pepper will laugh when she looks back to that day. Five years later, and they’re still together. They’ve had their ups and downs, but together they worked everything out.

Lying in bed with Tony curled around her side, she looks down at him sleeping peacefully. She loves this man, and he loves her, too.


End file.
